An Apolitical Amadeus

Millions of Mozart lovers have by now been exposed to Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, first on stage and now on screen. They have encountered an oafish, vulgar, and childlike Mozart. Indeed, it is God’s granting of unsurpassed musical genius to such a personality that so bewilders and enrages the pious and civilized Salieri. What a pity, then, that Shaffer’s splendid effort at a true and realistic portrayal of Mozart should avoid politics, which, it can be argued, was an imp...